Some people claim that Islamic jurisprudence contains provisions for separating a man from his wife if the husband is an apostate. God has never commanded the separation of the hypocrites, whom God has called idolaters and apostates, from their wives. The concept of separation as such came in two different places in the Qur'an: the first with regard divorce where He said: {But if they separate, Allah will compensate each out of His abundance} (Women, 130) and also: {When ye have divorced women, and they have retained their term, then retain them in kindness or release them in kindness} (The Cow, 231). Clearly the decision for separation goes back to the husband or to both man and wife, and not to any external person who has nothing to do with the matter in question.

The second is when God says about the devil's disciples who work in magic saying: {And from these two (angels) people learn that by which they cause a division between man and wife} (The Cow, 102). Here the separation comes from an external source which is the work of the devil, who paves the way for hatred between man and wife. God is warning those who do such works that they shall have a bad ending, having sold their lives to the devil. To that extent the Qur'an is careful about protecting the safety of marital life, distancing it from external interference which threatens it. Not only that, but the Qur'an has also stated that society should intervene to make amends between the spouses should there be problems arising between them. (Women, 35). External intervention therefore is for amending only and not to destroy homes. Marriage is the oldest divine jurisprudence for it is the alternative to adultery and prostitution.

God clearly said that many people tend to confuse between faith and idolatry: {And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners (unto Him)}. (Joseph, 106). And also: {And though thou try much, most men will not believe} (Joseph, 103).Should the marriages of most people then be nullified? The belief of the heart is one thing and marital jurisprudence is another. A disbeliever marries under a real legitimate marriage regardless of his belief. The ancestors and forefathers of the Prophet were married before Islam in an idolatrous society, and the Prophet came through such marriages. So did his disciples and followers. Islam never made a jurisprudence that invalidated all previous marriages because they occurred in an idolatrous community! Arabs were proud of keeping their ancestry through such marriages, and the followers of Muhammad were the same. Islamic jurisprudence has also brought about positive changes towards women.

There is even more. There are changes in Islamic jurisprudence mentioned in the Qur'an stipulated to, preventing marriages to mother, daughter and sister etc. After this jurisprudence came down in Al Medina, (especially with regards a son marrying his father's wife for instance, or those who married two sisters), the amendments clearly asked men not to marry their mothers or sisters etc.: {And marry not those women whom your fathers have married, except what hath already happened (of that nature) in the past. Lo! It was lewdness and abomination, and an evil way} (Women, 22). He considered the marriage of a son to his father's widow or divorcee an abomination, as well as marrying two sisters at the same time. This applied to all marriages after Islam and not those that preceded it. This means that the Qur'an did not command anyone to be separated form his wife, although those were individual cases that could have been nullified just to apply the Divine jurisprudence. This was to keep the family intact despite the jurisprudence. In Islam therefore, the concept of separation does not exist in an Islamic community,. After this jurisprudence came down in Al Medina,the amendments clearly asked men not to marry their mothers or sisters etc.: {And marry not those women whom your fathers married, except what hath already happened (of that nature) in the past. Lo! It was lewdness and abomination, and an evil way} (Women, 22)

There is one single exceptional case which Muslims and idolaters have suffered from following their emigration. Men had migrated to Medina and their wives refused to migrate wit them, holding on to religion and land. Some women likewise migrated to Al Medina and left their husbands behind out of belief in Islam. A war had begun between Mecca and Al Medina , and there was a total separation between those men and those women. An Islamic jurisprudence was therefore immediately issued for those people, where God ruled that this actual separation be transformed into a legal separation to enable idolaters from Al Medina to marry idolaters from Mecca, and for Muslims to marry Muslims. God also asked the men to pay dowries to the women's ex-husbands, and a new marriage began. This was in the Surah of  Al Mumta-henah..{She who is to be examined} which stipulated for prohibiting the marriages of Muslims from idolaters, while asking people to be merciful to the idolaters who have not harmed the Muslims. Had there been no war between both cities, there would have been no need for this jurisprudence in the first place. This jurisprudence was made for construction and not separation between spouses.

History reveals that (Abu Lahab)'s sons wanted to marry two of the Prophet's daughters, but left them under pressure from (Abu Lahab) and (Om Gamil-Abu Lahab's wife) is an idolater). Also history shows that (Zeinab), the Prophet's daughter, married an idolater who joined the idolaters in their war against the Prophet in the battle of Badr, and Muslims took him as prisoner of war. His wife, the Prophet's daughter, sent a contract to her father to free her husband. This means that she remained his wife in Mecca and did not leave it, to go with her father to Al-Medina, despite her Islam. She later left her idolatrous husband and migrated, soon to be followed by him after converting to Islam.

What we can learn from this is that marriage is from God regardless of creed, and that in Islamic jurisprudence there is nothing called separation of spouses because of creed, unless they chose to separate with their own free will